Awl (송곳)

My company is based in France,

and managers are all French,

Why are they hostile to labor unions?

Because they can in Korea.

They know they won't get prosecuted or criticized,

and it's cheaper to not have a union

This takes more than a sense of righteousness.

Give it more time, think it over.

Am I to sit back and watch them lose their jobs without knowing why?

Don't waste your energy. Go home.

Can you do that?

I can't.

Mr. Koo.

It is more troublesome for the company to follow a legal procedure,

Mr. Lee.

What are you doing?

What the hell are you doing in the store?

I am trying to persuade her to join a union.

AWL

This story begins on a certain day in June, 2003.

Episode 4

There is an umbrella factory and a fan factory.

Each factory has ten employees working at all times.

This town has a dry season and a rainy season

Naturally umbrellas get sold a lot in a rainy season and fans in a dry season.

But, because it is difficult to meet high demand with ten employees

there is a shortage of umbrellas in a rainy season and of fans in a dry season.

On the other hand,

there is a surplus of workers in the umbrella factory in a dry season

and in the fan factory in a rainy season.

Therefore,

two factories agreed to send five of their workers to the one with a shortage of labor

so that each factory can meet high demand in their busy season.

As a result,

the employees had neither too much work nor too little work,

factories made profit and buyers could get the goods they needed

the overall productivity of society increased.

This is called Labor Market Flexibility, right?

Easy to hire when needed, and easy to fire when no longer needed.

In theory, it helps everyone including society.

We will assume that's true for now.

Then,

Who is entitled to profit from the increase in productivity?

The ones that moved back and forth, working their butts off.

the ones that moved back and forth

they are the temporary workers.

It is tiring to move back and forth.

You have to get trained each time, move to new places, and risk a break between jobs.

That's why temporary workers deserve higher wage.

But in reality?

Temporary workers get less.

Sometimes as little as half the wage of permanent workers.

That means,

Thanks to temporary workers,

companies are making more money while spending less on labor.

Then where did that profit go?

To the company, of course. Where else?

The company gets a piece, that's for sure.

But not as much as you might think.

Then who gets it?

The ones holding a flag.

The ones in the middle that move workers back and forth.

Temporary staffing and secondment agencies, outsourcing companies, and their kinds,

the ones talking on the phone all day, sending workers to here and there.

Ten people to Dae Won Electronic by Monday.

It's the same guy who worked as a middleman between peasants and landlords.

Mr. Hwang!

You're slowing down with that hoe-ing.

Do you want me to cut down your pay?

Hey, mister!

Am I right or no?

How much is Sam Jin paying you for this service?

I know that a regular rate for one person is 300 dollars.

But how much do you get?

150 dollars?

Who is taking the other 150 dollars?

The one who gave you a call, right?

That's on top of the introduction fee they get from the company.

He'd better shut up now.

Seventy percent of newly hired in 2002 were temporary workers.

Then,

Will they get offered a permanent position if they work hard?

Conversion rate is less than 9 percent for those who worked for more than 4 years.

In America, the conversion rate for people who worked for a year is almost 57 percent.

What does this imply?

What does it mean?

It means that many of hard working Korean workers

have no hope of ever having a permanent employment in their lives.

It's not a one time thing.

After the economic crisis in 1997,

as we sold our wedding ring to save our country

as we wrote a letter of resignation to save our companies,

even as we went through all the commotion with outsourcing, staff reduction, and such,

we all believed that it would all be better once the economy recovers.

Gone are the days when the head of household could support family

and put kids through college with one income.

Those days are over.

Why would they want to change this convenient system that

allows companies to use and dispose workers at their will?

Give it a few more years.

You won't even remember

that those times existed.

You are hopeless.

Who's going to follow an outcast and join a union?

There always is one guy everybody likes and trusts.

You have to get that person first.

When I was in the army,

I got medals for exemplary leadership.

Who said you will be a leader?

There is no guarantee that you'd be a leader just because you started it.

It's different from the army where soldiers get conscripted and forced to stay.

You have to personally recruit them,

let them go if they want to leave.

That's how unions work.

Find a charismatic person.

That's the fast way.

What is he up to?

Did Mr. Joo do something wrong?

It's creepy.

Doesn't he look like those guys, what are they called?

Stalker?

Yeah, that's the word.

I bet he was the same with girls too.

Stalker!

That guy's been stalking you.

That's my boyfriend.

Why did you suddenly,

I wanted to make a good impression on you.

Mr. Joo!

good impression on you

good impression on you.

good impression on you.

Yes, sir.

I was,

Go ahead.

Would you like to join

the union with me?

I didn't get that.

Could you say it one more time?

The union.

Would you like to join the union?

This is settled, OK?

Come on, Kyung-sik.

You promised last time.

You said you could get me off for five straight days.

At least let me use my half day off.

You want to sabotage my chance of getting married?

Sales are down, it's not a good time.

Kyung-sik! Kyung-sik! Remember last time?

You made me stay with you because you were nervous about Gaston.

Min-jung gave me hell for standing her up that day.

She's going to kill me this time if I don't keep the promise.

Fine.

Can't give consecutive days off, how about separately?

No, I can't!

I am meeting Min-jung's parents for the first time.

I need two days at least! Is that too much to ask?

Nothing is too much to ask between us, right? You got it, OK?

No! I am serious!

Kyung-sik! Kyung-sik!

I really can't!

Thank you!

Mr. Lee.

You are here alone again.

I will try to explain, one more time.

If someone says out of nowhere, let's join a union!

Sounds good. Let's do it!

That's not going to happen.

Most Koreans think that joining a union is like committing a crime.

They will run away even before you finish the sentence.

Haven't you dated a girl before?

It's like dating.

Charming people attract charming people.

That's the law of attraction.

I see so many charming faces here.

Well, you attracted them, Mr. Koo.

I didn't attract them. They came on their own.

That means,

You are poop.

They are flies?

What?

Among the people who followed you,

Mr. Lee is the most charming.

Try not to lose him.

I charmed him.

Am I one of the flies?

How can you do this to me?

You swore you could go this time.

I told everyone you were coming, what am I going to do now?

Keep it down.

Do you think it was easy for me to get those days off?

I had to juggle my schedule and trade shifts with others.

What kind of a company keeps changing a schedule?

Even part time works don't do that.

You say that because you don't know what it's like.

Most companies are like that.

There are only so many people that can handle a task,

What if they all take a vacation at once,

Close the store for a while?

Sales are down these days.